Residents' Complaint: It's Too Late To Complain

March 06, 1985|The Morning Call

About a dozen residents turned out for a public meeting last night on Allentown's proposed West End Fire Station at 22nd and Turner streets. Most of the residents, however, agreed the meeting came too late - construction is expected to start this month.

Fire Chief Ernest Toth said excavation for a water line to the proposed fire station site could start today and bids for construction are expected to be awarded shortly.

Toth apologized to the residents for the city's failure to give them proper notification of meetings held last year when the project was first proposed.

"At the very beginning of this project the city held a meeting but nobody came," said Toth. "Some of the residents said they never received notification."

Toth said he personally sent out 35 letters to area residents notifying them of last night's meeting, which was billed as a session where the residents could ask questions of fire officials and the project architect, Barry Brobst of The Architectural Studio of Easton.

Brobst described the proposed building. It is designed to be landscaped into the lot at 22nd and Turner streets so it will make as little visual impact on the residential area as possible.

Residents last night said they thought the building design was good. But the residents said they wanted to let city officials know once again that they are unhappy their opportunity to comment on the project came so late in the planning stages.

Said one resident, "The benefits of the station being there are tremendous . . . but it is just unfortunate this meeting is happening so close to the actual building of the project."

Toth said construction could start before the end of March and the station should be completed by October.

Other residents said one of the major concerns was what effect thestation would have on property values.